Outlet structure for railway hopper cars



July 16, 1963 s. B. DOREY 3,097,612

OUTLET STRUCTURE FOR RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Filed Nov. 6, 1 959Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TOR.

July 16 1963 G. B. DOREY OUTLET STRUCTURE; FOR RAILWAY HOPPER CARS FiledNov. 6, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2' y 3 s. a. DOREY 3,097,612

OUTLET STRUCTURE FOR RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Filed Nov. 6, 1959 4Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR- Gcwge B Don a July 16, 1963 G. B. DOREY3,097,612

OUTLET STRUCTURE FOR RAILWAY HOPPER CARS Filed Nov. 6, 1959 4Sheets-Sheet 4 INV EN TOR. Geo/:96 5 Honey,

jib/ 1 United States Patent 3,097,612 OUTLET STRUCTURE FOR RAILWAYHOPPER CARS George B. Dorey, Westmount, Quebec, Canada, assignor toEnterprise Railway Equipment Company, Chicago,

111., a corporation of Illinois Filed Nov. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 851,459 7Claims. (Cl. 105-282) This invention relates to an improved outletstructure for a load containing hopper of the type employed inconnection with railway hopper cars and the like for conveying finelycomminuted lading.

The objects of the invention, among others, are: To provide improvedsealing means around the edges of a sliding gate; to provide housingmeans for retaining gaskets in sealing position; to provide coordinatingwedging means between a movable gate and hopper structure; and toprovide a sealing gasket strip around the edges of a movable gate withprovision for disposing the end portions of said sealing gasket strip inoverlapping relation and thereby effect a double seal to coact with theprojecting end of a sliding gate.

The invention further resides in certain details of construction andrefinement of parts associated with the improved structure.

For further comprehension of the invention reference may be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein the improvement is shown as applied to arailway hopper car.

In said drawingslce structure 19. The framing structure 19 is formed inpart by inner and outer longitudinally extending frame members 20 and 21which are transversely united by frame cross members 22, 23 and 24.

The longitudinally extending frame members 20 and 21 include upperportions 25 and 26 which respectively over- FIG. 1 is a verticaltransverse elevational view of the taken through the hopper on a line 44of FIG. 1 and showing by conventional dot and dash lines the position ofthe parts with the gate in opened position.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on a line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is a fractional vertical sectional view on an enlarged scaletaken on a line 6-6 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7 is a fractional vertical sectional view on an enlarged scaletaken on a line 77 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a fractional vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale astaken on a line 8-8 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 9 is a fractional vertical sectional view on an enlarged scaletaken on a line 99 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a perspective sectional view of the gate.

In said drawings wherein the improvement is shown as applied to arailway hopper car, the car structure is indicated by a center sill 10and side wall 11 having an edge angle 11a and interposed between saidcenter sill and side wall is a four-sided hopper 12 having a dischargeopening 13. In practice there are actually hoppers disposed on oppositesides of the center sill 10 in transversely aligned relation butinasmuch as the construction of the various hoppers is similar, thedescription herein will be confined to only one of such hoppers.

Each hopper 12 is formed in part by inner and outer side walls 14 and 15which meet with oppositely sloping walls 16 and 17 to complete the foursides of a foursided hopper. The marginal edges of the said walls 14,15, 16 and 17 are spaced apart to form the discharge opening 13. Thedischarge opening 13 is closed by a sliding gate 18 which in turn issupported by a framing lie the inner and outer walls 14 and 15 and thecross member 22 likewise includes an upper portion 27 which overlies thesloping end wall 16. The cross members 23 and 24 are disposed at the endof the discharge opening 13 opposite to cross member 22 with crossmember 23 disposed above the gate 18 to overlie sloping wall 17 of thehopper. The cross member 24 includes a vertical wall section 24 disposedbelow the gate 18 and flanged at its upper margin at 24" to underlie thegate 18. The flange 24 is spaced from the lower marginal edge 23' of theupper end wall 23 to define a slotted opening 28 through which the gate18 slidably extends. The inner longitudinally extending frame member 20preferably extends I vertically above the gate 18 for attachment at 29to the inner hopper side wall 14.

Horizontally disposed ledges 30, 31 and 32 of frame members 20, 21 and22 form supports for the gate 18 in closed position and the saidlongitudinal frame members 20 and 21 are extended well beyond theslotted opening 28 at 33 and 34 to provide continuity of ledges 30 and31 for supporting the gate 18 in opened position.

The gate 18 is beveled slightly, FIG. 10, as indicated at 35 to theextent shown at 35a at the leading end 36. Longitudinally extendingflanges 3737 are provided at and secured to the sides of the gate 18 andthey have their upper marginal edge surfaces 38 inclining down- Wardlyfrom the trailing end 39 to the leading end 36 of the gate 18 to providewedge shaped side flanges presenting the upper edge surfaces 38 inclinedrelatively to the gate bearing surfaces of ledges 30 and 31 of the railmembers 20 and 21.

The trailing end portion 39 of the gate'18, which normally projectsbeyond the slot 28, is inclined on the underside to provide an endportion 41 inclined upwardly as indicated at 41a (FIG. 10) to extend inthe direction of or parallel to the inclined surfaces 38. Secured to theupper surface of the end portion 39 is a reinforcing bar 42 whichextends transversely of the gate 18 and is of such thickness as todispose its upper surface 43- in alignment with and formingcontinuations of the edge surfaces 38 of the side flanges 3737 and thebeveled surface 35 at the leading end 36 of the gate 18. The saidsurfaces 35 and 38-38 in combination with surface 43 lie in a continuouscommon plane inclined relatively to the top surface of the gate.18around its upper margins. Coacting with this marginal surface is aresilient gasket 44. The gasket 44 is preferably of hollow circularsection and readily deformable to seat in receptacles as will be described.

Tlhe gasket 44 extends around the four sides of the discharge opening 13and is of single ply on three sides of the opening as indicated at 45,46 and 47 and on the fourth side provides for a two ply overlappingconstruction by having the two ends 48 and 49 overlap for substantiallythe entire width of the [gate 18 (FIG. 3).

For holding the gasket 44 in place there are provided housings on threesides in the form of inclined shedding plates 50, 51 and 52 whichreceive the sections 45, 46 and 47. On the fourth side of the opening atthe projecting or trailing end 39 .of the gate 18 there is provided anangle shaped reinforcing member 53 having one wall 54 underlying theupper transverse wall 23 and the other Wall 55 outstanding therefrom.The two ends of the gaskets 48 and 49 are positioned in the angle formedby the walls 54 and 55 and held therein in a deformed state by lugs 56and 57 which are welded in place on the respective walls 54 and 55 toform restricted mouth openings therebetween.

Similarly the other gasket sections 45, 46 and 47 are held in place bylugs 58 for section 45', at 60 for section 46 and at 62 for section 47.

The gate 18 is preferably operated by toggle mechanism, generallyindicated at 64, and which preferably consists of a rotatable shaft 65mounted in bearings 66 at the outer ends of extensions 33 and 34. Thetoggle mechanism 64 includes arms 6767 non-rotatably mounted on theshaft 65 and links 6868 respectively pivoted at one end to the said armsat 69 and having their opposite ends pivotally connected to the gate 18by pivots 70 which extend through lugs 71 secured to the trailing end39.

The arms 66, in combination with their associated links 67, as shown byfull lines in FIG. 4, assume a slightly over-center knuckled positionthereby providing a toggle lock to force the gate 18 to tightly closedposition against the resilience of the gasket 44.

The shaft 65 is rotated by a suitable operating head 72 having a seriesof openings 73 for the accommodation of a removable bar conventionallyindicated at 74.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A discharge outlet assembly comprising, in com-bination,

(a) a foursided chute-like enclosure defining a discharge opening,

(b) a gate for said opening movable beyond one of the sides of saidenclosure to open position,

() support means on opposite sides of said enclosure extending towardeach other on which said gate is movable,

(d) said gate including an upstanding flange wall at each side extendingin the general direction of movement of the gate and tapering in heightfrom a location adjacent said one side of said enclosure when said gateis in closed position,

(1:) ledge means along each of said opposite sides of said enclosure inoverlying relation to the respective side flange of said gate,

|(f) resilient gasket means interposed between the undersurfaces of saidledge means and the upper surfaces of said side flanges when said gateis fully closed, and

-(g) means for moving said gate between open and closed positions.

2. The invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein (a) ledge means onthe side of the enclosure opposite the side beyond which the gate ismovable overlies the adjacent end of said .gate in closed position,

(b) the upper surface of said gate at said adjacent end is coplanar withthe surfaces of the coextensive portions of the flange walls, and

(c) resilient gasket means is interposed between the last mentionedledge means and said upper surface of said gate in its fully closedposition.

3. The invention, as set forth in claim 2, wherein (a) the gate in fullyclosed position projects from the side of the enclosure beyond which itis movable,

(b) ledge means on the outside of the last mentioned side of theenclosure overlies the adjacent end of said gate, and

(c) resilient gasket means is interposed between the last mentionedledge means and the underlying surface of said gate in its fully closedposition.

4. The invention, as set forth in claim 3, wherein the resilient gasketmeans is tubular in character and is overlapped underneath the ledgemeans on the outside of the side of the enclosure beyond which the gateis movable to present double impingement surfaces for engaging theunderlying surface of said gate in its fully closed position.

5. The invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein (a) the support meanson which the gate is movable are runways on which said gate is slidable,

(b) the upper marginal edges of the upstanding flange Walls are inclinedin relation to the surfaces of said runways on which said .gate slides,and

(c) the resilient gasket means is secured to the respective ledge meansand impinges upon said upper marginal edges of said upstanding flangewalls when said gate is fully closed.

6. The invention, as set forth in claim 5, wherein (a) the .gate infully closed position projects from the side of the enclosure beyondwhich it is movable, and

(b) the projecting end of said gate is inclined upward- 1y atsubstantially the same angle of taper of the upstanding flange walls.

7. The invention, as set forth in claim 1, wherein the undersurfaces ofthe ledge means are inclined and in complementary relation to the uppersurfaces of the side flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS502,584 Rettig Aug. 1, 1893 959,106 Battle May 24, 1910 1,019,875 WrightMar. 12, 1912 1,795,016 Faber Mar. 3, 1931 1,813,928 Hosceit July 14,1931 1,956,310 Boyd Apr. 24, 1934 2,227,712 Hackley Jan. 7, 19412,317,007 Weniger Apr. 20, 1943 2,719,636 Berg Oct. 4, 1955 2,738,735Zimmer Mar. 20, 1956 2,738,737 Zimmer Mar. 20, 1956

1. A DISCHARGE OUTLET ASSEMBLY COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, (A) AFOURSIDED CHUTE-LIKE ENCLOSURE DEFINING A DISCHARGE OPENING, (B) A GATEFOR SAID OPENING MOVABLE BEYOND ONE OF THE SIDES OF SAID ENCLOSURE TOOPEN POSITION, (C) SUPPORT MEANS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID ENCLOSUREEXTENDING TOWARD EACH OTHER ON WHICH SAID GATE IS MOVABLE, (D) SAID GATEINCLUDING AN UPSTANDING FLANGE WALL AT EACH SIDE EXTENDING IN THEGENERAL DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE GATE AND TAPERING IN HEIGHT FROM ALOCATION ADJACENT SAID ONE SIDE OF SAID ENCLOSURE WHEN SAID GATE IS INCLOSED POSITION, (E) LEDGE MEANS ALONG EACH OF SAID OPPOSITE SIDES OFSAID ENCLOSURE IN OVERLYING RELATION TO THE RESPECTIVE SIDE FLANGE OFSAID GAGE, (F) RESILIENT GASKET MEANS INTERPOSED BETWEEN THEUNDERSURFACES OF SAID LEDGE MEANS AND THE UPPER SURFACES OF SAID SIDEFLANGES WHEN SAID GATE IS FULLY CLOSE, AND (G) MEANS FOR MOVING SAIDGATE BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSE POSITIONS.